Oh, brother: Drews face off in exhibition at Baylor
10/9/2025 6:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
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Revamped rosters play early scrimmage to review, reunite
By: Paul Coro
WACO, Texas – The demands of the Drew brothers' coaching jobs do not allow for much time together, so they scheduled a couple hours to hang out Friday – and to try to beat the other like their younger days.
Drew vs. Drew goes public this year, with Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew taking his team to Baylor's 1-year-old Foster Pavilion to play his big brother Scott's host team in a Friday exhibition at 2 p.m. (Phoenix time).
The Lopes and Bears played a secret preseason scrimmage last year in Fort Worth, Texas, but this game will be open to fans with Baylor not charging admission. There will not be a video stream, but the game can be heard on a GCU audio stream.
"This is a great game for us against a really good program, so it's going to help us for the season," Bryce Drew said. "It's tough because my brother and I are so close, but we're so busy that it's nice that we get to see each other and actually spend some time together and see each other's teams."
The brothers have made the Drews the second-winningest family in college basketball coaching with 1,408 wins among Bryce, Scott and their Hall of Fame father, former Valparaiso coach Homer. Homer may be the most pleased about the scheduling, getting to watch both his sons coach and two of his grandsons, Caleb and Luke Shaw, play for the Lopes.
"I will be cheering for them the rest of the year and all their players," Scott Drew said at a Thursday press conference. "But come Friday at 4 (Waco time), we're going to try to make sure we get a win.
"The reason we're scrimmaging them is they're well-coached. They're a talented team with great size and length."
GCU only returns two players, Caleb Shaw and Makaih Williams, who logged minutes for the Lopes's NCAA Tournament team last season. But Baylor is one of nine teams in the nation without a returning player.
The Bears did get a head start by representing the U.S. in the World University Games this summer, when they went 5-1 with Obi Agbim averaging more than 20 points to win Most Valuable Player. Agbim, a fifth-year guard who averaged 17.6 points at Wyoming last season, is one of 10 players Baylor added from the transfer portal.
GCU added one of the nation's top transfer portal classes by bring in seven impact players that way and also signing four freshmen.
"Everyone is trying to figure their teams out," Bryce Drew said. "There's going to be a lot of learning from this game. We did it so early so that we'd have a couple weeks to prepare for our next exhibition game (vs. USC on Oct.25). It's a process. Hopefully, each week we're taking a step up."
The family reunion will include their father, Homer, and sister, Dana Drew Shaw, who is a GCU vice president, the mother of Caleb and Luke Shaw and wife of GCU assistant coach Casey Shaw.
An ankle injury kept Caleb from playing against his uncle in last year's tightly contested scrimmage in Fort Worth, Texas, but Caleb also faced him in 2023 as a Northern Colorado freshman. He is hoping for a better memory than that 33-point loss, when he made 1 of 11 shots with Scott's informed scouting report.
"He made sure I didn't make any shots," Caleb said. "I'm looking to play better this time.
"My family loves this. It's community, so it's awesome."
Baylor, where Scott led the 2021 national champions, will be longer and taller this season but are waiting to learn whether Juslin Bodo Bodo, a 6-foot-11 rebounder and shot blocker will be cleared at some point after being Big South Defensive Player of the Year for High Point last season.
With Jon Rothstein reporting Bodo Bodo is out for Friday's scrimmage, the homecoming of Waco native Caden Powell keeps the Baylor front line strong. The 6-foot-9 Rice transfer averaged 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds as a Rice junior last season. GCU forward Nana Owusu-Anane
GCU also has sentiment in Friday's game beyond the Drews and Shaws. Graduate power forward Nana Owusu-Anane will be starting for the Lopes after missing last season at Brown for a shoulder injury.
Other heralded transfers include 6-foot-7 point guard Jaden Henley (via UNLV), junior guard Dusty Stromer (via Gonzaga) and senior guard Brian Moore Jr., last season's mid-major player of the year at Norfolk State.
One of GCU's most recent arrivals, 7-foot freshman Efe Demirel of Turkey, will be getting his first taste of U.S. college competition against a premier program.
"We are going to be able to see things earlier to make adjustments in the upcoming weeks before the season starts," Bryce said.
The format will have a regulation game with two 20-minute halves and then an extra 10-minute period to give playing time across the rosters.
"It's great from the standpoint that both of us will not only be able to learn a lot from the scrimmage, but we also get a better feel for each other's teams, so we can help out each other," Scott said.
With a Hall of Fame father, the Drew brothers' coaching styles and acumen were heavily influenced by Homer. But Bryce also followed Scott into coaching.
When Bryce was becoming a March Madness hero and Valparaiso legend, Scott was assisting Homer and was actually the coach who was harder on Bryce. As Bryce was playing in the NBA, Scott progressed his career that led to him leading one of the greatest restoration projects in college basketball history at Baylor.
"My brother has been so innovative and progressive with his program, adapting from different styles on defense and offense," Bryce said. "He's definitely a great resources for me to call."
Their nephew, Luke, is new to the scene as a freshman guard seeing his first unofficial action against his uncle.
"My mom and grandfather aren't on the court, but for them to watch I know is super special for them," Luke said. "These are great moments we'll be talking about as a family for a long time. I try to put myself in their shoes for what it would be like to play against Caleb or coach against him. I can't imagine it. I'd want to win real bad."
The Drew brothers initially avoided competition as coaches for the first time since they played against each other as boys.
"Once he beat me, we stopped (playing)," Scott said.
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The Lopes and Bears played a secret preseason scrimmage last year in Fort Worth, Texas, but this game will be open to fans with Baylor not charging admission. There will not be a video stream, but the game can be heard on a GCU audio stream.
The family reunion will include their father, Homer, and sister, Dana Drew Shaw, who is a GCU vice president, the mother of Caleb and Luke Shaw and wife of GCU assistant coach Casey Shaw.
